Zeref's Spirit
by Eisren
Summary: When Natsu sacrifices himself to save a teammate, there are consequences that he had been trying to avoid for a very long time. When Loke comes to explain what has really happened, it results in the remnants of Team Natsu going on a long heart-wrenching journey to get their best friend back. A bit o' gore so rated teen


**{A/N: Okay… I have ****_no idea_**** where this came from, but it was a good-ish idea in my opinion and was driving me insane. So, without further ado, Zeref's Spirit.**

**I also don't own Fairy Tail… sadly….**

**-Ren}**

**_..._**

*Lucy POV*

Why? Why was he always saving me? Always protecting me? He always said to never sacrifice yourself for your friends, and to live for them, but he was such a _hypocrite! _He was always the one to throw himself into danger, disregarding his own moral. He would always take the hit for me…

But this time the hit was just too great. And it was all my fault.

**_..._**

*Normal PoV*

-A few minutes earlier-

Battles were raging all around the Fairy Tail mages. Erza and Natsu were taking on the two S-Class mages in the traveling band of dark wizards, while Lucy, Gray and Happy took on the twenty-five grunts. The battle was ending, and victory was seemingly assured in Fairy Tail's favor.

Lucy could hear Happy and Gray fighting to her left; their group was down to the last five of the dark mages. She could hear clashing iron far away and guessed that Erza had nearly defeated her opponent. She noticed the lack of roaring flames, and spared a glance to where Natsu had previously been fighting. She smiled as she saw the crumpled form of an enemy.

She turned back to her opponent, glad he was the last one as she didn't have enough power to summon even _Plue, _and heard him call out an attack. Knowing she wouldn't dodge fast enough, she braced for the impact of the sharp, shadow blades hurling towards her.

Instead of the harsh licks of pain, all she felt was warmth and the hard ground violently jostling her side. She heard the familiar roar and felt the warmth of her best friend's fire, and heard a shout of pain before the enemy fell to the ground unconscious. The two of them just laid there, grateful that they had completed their job, and listened to the sounds of their friends emerging victorious.

After hearing Gray's victory shout, Lucy decided it was time to get up from their prone position. And that's when she noticed the blood.

Natsu's blood.

The blades that would have embedded themselves in her person had found their home under the pinkette's ribs. How did she not notice this before?! The crimson liquid was flowing freely from the too-deep wound, and trickling slowly out of his mouth. She realized that was why he had stayed in the laying down position. He was _always_ a bundle of energy after defeating an enemy, the only difference this time was the wound that was far more serious than the seemingly fatal ones he had received before. From the wheezing sound of his breath she assumed that one of his lungs were punctured, and Wendy hadn't come with them.

Eyes widening in panic she pressed down on the wound, pulling of and balling up one of her sleeves to try and staunch the bleeding. "Someone! I need bandages! Hurry!" she could hear her voice becoming more and more frantic as the seconds ticked by and her friend became more and more pale.

She heard running footsteps stop abruptly and heard undignified sounds come from her three teammates. Erza quickly requipped some bandages and gray tries freezing the wound shut, to no avail.

Happy simply looked horrified and let silent tears fell down his face.

They all released a sigh of relief when Natsu's eyes flicked open. "G-guys..." he started weakly, blood dribbling out from his mouth.

"Natsu, don't talk! Save your strength!" Lucy interrupted his thought, tears flowing from her, like everyone else's, eyes.

"N-no I need t-to tell-"

"Seriously, flame-brain, shut u-up" tears fell silently from the ice mage's eyes as he tried to, once again, to seal the wound.

"You sh-shut up, Princess"

If the situation wasn't what it was, Lucy and Happy would have laughed at their antics, and Erza would probably hit them over the head with a metal fist. But it was dire, and the pyromaniac didn't seem to realize the gravity of the situation.

Lucy looked at him, "Natsu, please, save your strength."

He looked her in the eyes for the first time since he had been struck; the mix of emotions was startling to the Celestial mage. Pain, obviously, slight anger, but also regret, worry, confusion, and a myriad that Lucy couldn't decipher. It was definitely odd to see such a look coming from the hot-head.

"No u-use," his words shocked the group of mages "I, as well as you all, know the wounds t-too deep."

Anger burned in Happy's eyes, "Don't s-say that Natsu!"

Erza tearfully spoke nest, "What happened to not sacrificing y-yourself for your friends?"

"Th-that only…*grimace* counts if you die"

The crying group stared at him in shock. "Wh…what do you mean, lizard breath?"

"I m-might have kept a secret…sorry."

"Natsu what do you mean?"

He gave a slight grin before it tuned into a pained frown, "Tell Leo that I give him permission to explain everything." He looked to Lucy, an oddly intense and remorseful look in his eyes, "Everything." It wasn't a request, it was an order.

The blonde nodded.

He sighed in relief, skin paling rapidly. "N-Natsu…" he painfully raised an eyebrow to the ice mage. "What are you talking about?"

He smiled meekly, "I apologize in advance for anything he might make me do."

The redhead spoke "Who are you talking about?"

The rosette didn't answer, eyes sliding shut. "Natsu?" Happy weakly called out, "Natsu!?"

His breath hitched, head lolling to the side.

Then something completely unexpected happened. A familiar golden light started to shine from his wounds, big and small, with varying intensities and brightness.

The wizards stared in shock and horror and awe as their friend slowly became encased in the brightening light. It increased and got brighter until it was physically painful to look at their friend, and then, all at once, it was gone.

Taking the bloodied dragon slayer with it.

**_...0.0_**

Lucy and Happy had passed out from exhaustion, both emotional and physical, after Natsu had disappeared, which is how we come to this scene, a numb and misty eyed raven carrying a blotchy faced blonde, and an armored redhead sobbing softly into the fur of an unconscious blue cat.

The job they had been on had only been a few miles from Magnolia's outskirts, so in that respect they were lucky. When they were halfway to the port town, Lucy had awoken, and the expression on her face when she noticed the lack of pink hair was enough to send Gray and Erza into another bout of tears.

They walked silently, none wanting to break the pregnant horror-filled silence, all they wanted was to get to the guild and talk to the Master and Loke.

Gray was still confused about what Loke could tell them. And why Natsu referred to him as "Leo".

But first they had to get to Magnolia.

**_...0.0_**

Early morning sunlight was trickling through the guild high windows as Mirajane was preparing the bar and kitchen. Due to the time, only her and a few others were taking residence in the large stone building. It had been a normal morning, she had woken up a few hours ago, showered dressed and prepared for the short walk from the Strauss residence to her workplace and second home.

If only she knew that today would be the exact opposite of normal.

The doors of the guild hall opened with a soft thud, something highly uncommon from the team emerging from the entryway.

She greeted them cheerfully, as per usual, "Another success I take it?" eyes closed and a bright smile adorning her face, "You're …all back… early…" she had just taken in their appearance for the first time, the usual bruises and cuts that accompanied a 'dispel a group of dark mages' job, but what had made her halt was the blood.

There was too much blood. She ran from behind the bar and began inspecting them for wounds.

"Mira" Erza's voice was thick from crying, "We're uninjured."

"But the…" she looked at the ragged wizards; dread building as she noticed an absence. Not wanting the answer, she asked the dreaded question. "Wh-where's Natsu?"

She was answered witch a hitching sob from the Celestial mage, a silent tear and downcast look from the raven, and a pained look from her ex-rival.

She fell to the ground as her brain processed the information, tears freely falling from her blue eyes.

"Mira," Erza said in a soft yet husky voice, "We have to speak with the Master, is he in?"

The silver-haired barmaid nodded numbly and walked up the stairs to the Masters office. Not bothering to knock, she simply pushed the door open, startling the old man who had been doing the billing.

"M-Master…"

His eyes widened as he took in the team's appearances, noticing the absence of a certain fire-breather. The absence and the sheer amount of blood on their persons was enough for him to piece together that he had lost someone dear to him. He took in a shaky breath looking to the two S-Class mages for answers.

Their eyes said it all.

"G-Gramps," Gray spoke up. "Before he… he said to ask Loke to explain _something_. D-do you have any idea what he could have meant?"

The old man shock his head before turning to Lucy. "My dear, do you think you could…" he trailed off, but she nodded anyways, pulling a golden key from her belt.

In a quiet and cracking voice, she muttered the incantation, "G-Gate of the Lion, I open thee. Leo!..."

The simple doorchime rang and the Lion spirit appeared in a flash of gold light. The light made the mages of Team Natsu pale slightly, though they were unaware of why they reacted in such a way.

The spirit turned to Lucy, eyes closed and in his seemingly factory-set "flirt" mode. "Hello, Princess," he opened his eyes to look at his contractor, "Lucy what happened?!"

The blonde looked ready to cry once again, so Erza spoke for her. "Loke, N-Natsu didn't…"

He stared at her, face paling in horror, and other emotions. He closed his eyes briefly, did he say anything odd?"

Happy piped up, speaking in a tone very unbecoming of his name, "He asked us to tell you that he's giving you permission to explain"

He ran a hand over his face, "How much can I say?"

Lucy looked at him solemnly, "Everything." She whispered.

He sighed, relief evident on his visage, and then a look of deep sadness and slight horror. He gazed over to the master before averting his gaze to the ground. "I guess I should start by saying that he's not dead. In fact, at the moment, he's probably the more alive than he's been the entire time he was a member of this guild."

Confused, but relieved the wizards looked to him, silently begging him to say more.

"If I had to guess, I would say he's in the Celestial Spirit World, recovering."

Mira looked confused, "Why would he be there?"

Loke looked at her with a small sad smile, "You all couldn't of known. Hell, _I _didn't know until the changeling incident." He paused, taking in their confused faces, "You've had that damned dragon in your guild for years now."

Everyone but Lucy and Makarov still wore the confused expressions, Lucy gasped, a petite, red-tinged hand covering her mouth, and Makarov just sat at his desk, pale a look of horror on his weathered face.

Loke sighed and turned to the three dense mages and the cat, "That idiot's the Celestial Dragon. Draco."

Eyes were blown wide as the news was delivered and suspicions were confirmed.

"There's no way the flame-brain could… there's no way…."

"But he was eleven when he arrived…"

Comments trying to make sense of the newfound information flew around the room, voiced varying in loudness and intensity.

But one was silent. "Loke…" the Blonde mage started, inadvertently quieting the room. "Natsu said something about being sorry in advance for whatever '_he_' made him do. Who was he talking about."

The lion looked up at her, eyes burning in bitter rage and hatred, "He was talking about his contractor… Whenever you find the idiot he isn't going to be the happy-go-lucky guy you know. That bastard will make sure of it."

The Master looked up, stomach turning restlessly from his pseudo-son's words. "Leo… Who does Natsu have a contract with?"

Loke suddenly found his shoes extremely interesting. His voice barely above a whisper. "…Zeref."

~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~

**{And that's a wrap. Any criticism or critique would be greatly appreciated. I hope to update this soon.**

**-Ren}**


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